The Flash #4 – I am still very upset that this book is any good at all. I really wanted this comic to suck so that DC learned that the one true Flash is Wally West and Barry’s time had come and gone. The problem is that this book is very good. I don’t think that there is anything inherent to the story that makes it so that this could not have been told with Wally as the Flash, but other than that, I am enjoying this Flash book. I am not sold on the art, but the characterization of the supporting characters has always been what sold me on the Flash, and this series, with the same Rouges, is no different. Rarely anymore does a comic interest me enough to not only want to know what happens in the next book, but also the long run. I hope that Wally shows up eventually, and that DC doesn’t water down this book like they did with the success of Johns’ Green Lantern reboot, but we know they will. Until DC f*cks this up, I’ll keep buying it.

Uncanny X-Men #526 / X-Men #238 – I really don’t have much to say about these post Second Coming books except (1) Did I miss a scene where Hope and Scott made up to the point that she is taking advise from him? (2) Really Marvel, I know that character continuity is not that big of a deal anymore, but could you please try and not have characters in two different places in two different books come out the same week? And (3) the back up in Uncanny that leads into Children’s Crusade was very well done, but should have come out before Children’s Crusade…maybe, what do I know?

Secret Avengers #3 – Secret my ass. They are being hunted by a true secret organization and don’t even know it. Idiots. But, the cover for #4 has me pretty stoked….Cap puts on Nova’s helmet.

American Vampire #5 – The first arc for each storyline wrap up in this issue, and I must say, this book continued to get better. If you have not yet tried this book, most of Vertigo’s first vol. trades recently have been $9.99, I high recommend giving this a look. Again, I am really curious as to where this goes, but I think that this was the end of Stephen King’s involvement, which is a shame. I did think that his part was the weakest each month, but by the end of #5 is was nice to see how both stories met in the middle.

Time Bomb #1 – Go buy this book. Not only was it good, not only did it have one of the best time traveling paradox solutions I have ever read, and not only was it just a blast to read but it was 56 pages for only $4.99. Compare that to your 22 page $3.99 Marvel / DC book and you get 40% more comic for one extra dollar. I am used to the idea of smaller print books costing more because of the “economy of scale”, but Radical seems to have found a loophole or Marvel and DC have their heads up their asses.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman – What would happen if the kids from Narnia attended the college version of Hogwarts? The Magicians answers that question with a wink and a nod to both famous magical franchises. For those of you who hate decompressed writing, The Magicians is for you, in one book 5 yeas of college + some post college adventures are expertly told in just over 400 pages. This is a complex yet easy exploration into modern magic and how learning of its existence would affect 20 something. If I had one criticism, some times it felt that Grossman glossed over the every day details of school life just to move the story along a bit to quickie, but even that is balanced by where the story takes you. I’ll admit, it was a Borders display that got me to buy this book, but sometimes the books they push are worth it, and this is one of those times.

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About the Author - GHERU

RU, or as he’s known in the writers’ room: the cute one, is relatively unappreciated in his time. RU’s YouTube show, RUviews is watched by literally multiple people every month and his Outhouse articles have helped line many a bird cage. Before you send RU a message, he knows that there are misspelled words in this article, and probably in this bio he was asked to write. RU wants everyone to know that after 25+ years of collecting he still loves comic books and can’t believe how seriously fanboys take them. RU lives in Akron Ohio (unfortunately) with WIFE, ‘lilRuRu, and the @DogGodThor. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, & even Google+ (if anyone still uses that).